Statewide Iowa (RI) — Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Alex Dinkla says troopers have stopped motorists traveling at more than twice the posted speed limit on Iowa highways.
Iowa State Troopers practice driving and stopping at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, but Dinkla says the patrol’s sedans, Dodge Chargers, would never drive 164 miles an hour during a chase.
Last year state troopers wrote over a thousand tickets to Iowa drivers clocked at speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour.
A bill to significantly increase the fines for excessive speeding has been introduced in the Iowa House, by a lawmaker who’s a state trooper. Representative Joshua Meggers of Grundy Center says he was patrolling a two-lane highway last summer and stopped a driver going 103 miles an hour.
Data compiled by the Legislative Services Agency indicates the Iowa State Patrol, along with Iowa police and sheriff’s departments, are likely to issue 10,000 to 11,000 tickets this year to motorists driving at least 20 miles an hour over the speed limit.
KIWA Staff Photo
